Skin Côntact gig raises £10k for charity

Skin Côntact, the UK wine trade’s only charity covers band, has raised £10,000 for Wine Relief following a one-off gig in London.

After seven months of preparation, Skin Côntact finally took the stage at Vinopolis on Monday, supported by a host of prominent members of the wine trade.

The band itself features Richard Hemming, writer for JancisRobinson.com, on keyboard; Alex Hunt MW, purchasing director for Berkmann Wine Cellars, on lead guitar; Ben Smith, head of communication for Concha y Toro UK and former member of ’80s chart-toppers Curiosity Killed The Cat, on bass guitar; and Matt James, founder of The Bordeaux Cellar and former member of ’90s indie band Gene, on drums.

Tim Atkin MW rocks out

Backing vocals came courtesy of Anne McHale MW, wine education specialist at Berry Bros & Rudd, and Helen Chesshire, founder of The Chesshire Set PR.

Tim Atkin MW, Joe Wadsack and Charles Metcalfe also made appearances on stage, while Neal Martin, who recently took over the reigns for Bordeaux en primeur from Robert Parker, put on a DJ set. Anne Jones, category manager for beers, wines and spirits at Waitrose, wine writers David Williams and Lucy Britner, and Ewan Murray of the Wine Society also took part.

Held in aid of Wine Relief, the wine trade’s fundraising initiative to support Comic Relief, in partnership with Côtes du Rhône Wines, more than 300 tickets and 828 raffle tickets were sold which means the event will have hit its target of raising more than £10,000.